


Summer with the Solve it Squad

by star_goat_baby



Category: The Solve It Squad - Tin Can Brothers
Genre: Road Trip, Skinny Dipping, Trans Male Character, bind safely guys!, esther and scrags are my brotp, lake, trans!scrags, unsafe binding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:00:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/star_goat_baby/pseuds/star_goat_baby
Summary: It's a boiling day, Scrags is binding too much, Esther is helpful.
Relationships: Esther & Scrags (The Solve It Squad)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 55





	Summer with the Solve it Squad

**Author's Note:**

> Basically an AU where the squad didn't quit after Clubert's death so they're teens still.
> 
> Self indulgent fic because where are the fanfics for SiS??

It was hot. Very, very hot. The gang were slowly melting in the van, travelling back from a mystery that had taken them on a wild goose chase over many miles. Keith rarely cared about fixing 'minor' problems with the van, which is why only one window worked, the rest jammed shut.

Gwen lent out of the window (of course Keith would let her have the one seat with a working window) but sat back in her seat after the realisation that the air outside was almost as warm as the air in the sweaty metal box. She sighed, which caused a groan from Esther, who knew the whining was about to start. 

"It's so hot I can't breathe" moaned Gwen.

"Inaccurate" stated Esther.

"I'm so done with this journey!" Gwen continued, with a pointed look to Esther, who put up her hands in mock surrender.

Scrags, who was mindlessly watching the trees pass, suddenly noticed a road sign, and he wasn't the only one.

"Oh my God, how _lucky_ are we?" Keith exclaimed as he saw the sign, "A lake? This is perfect!"

"Shouldn't we just keep go-" Scrags started before he was cut off by Keith.

"Who's up for _skinny dipping_?!" Keith yelled, before turning the van onto a smaller road, following the signs to the lake.

"I don't thin-"

"This is gonna be the _best_!" Keith cut Scrags off again, " Gwen. Gwen, isn't this going to be the best? Gwen." Gwen wasn't listening, distracted by the very instagramable scenery, while Esther put her head in her hands, trying to tolerate the pairs' obliviousness. Meanwhile, Scrags was trying his best to appear calm.

By the time the gang reached the lake, Scrags was looking pale and trying to retreat back into his seat. Of course, Esther had taken note of this, but Gwen and Keith were, as always, none the wiser.

The van screeched to a halt in a clearing in the trees that looked like it might have once been a car park, but was now becoming overgrown again as nature reclaimed it. Keith leapt out of the van and rushed to let Gwen out as Esther hopped from the right-hand back door. Scrags took a moment in the van to breath, before getting out as well.

Scrags almost jumped out of his skin when he turned around to find Esther right behind him.

"Jesus, Esther, you almost gave me a heart attack!" He laughed halfheartedly, trying to disguise his shaky voice.

"Sorry, Scrags," Esther said genuinely, "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to keep me company sitting on the jetty, I don't really want to go in, especially not if I have to be in proximity to Keith's naked body."

"Of course!" Scrags exclaimed, now trying to hide his relief at having an excuse to not swim. Scrags often managed to forget how smart Esther was, because she was quite good at keeping quiet and acting fairly normal. Mysteries were an obvious reminder of Esther's brains, but in between times they were just your average friends and it was easy for Scrags to fall into his normal self-protecting habits.

Scrags and Esther wandered over to the jetty and sat dangling their feet over the end. Scrags had taken his shoes and socks off and rolled his trousers up to the knees to dip his feet in, while Esther couldn't even reach the water. Keith and Gwen were already neck deep in the lake, flirtatiously splashing each other, clothes forgotten on the pebble beach.

Esther laid back on the old wooden platform, hands behind her head and eyes closed at the sun. Scrags stayed sitting forward, swishing his feet in the cool water and anxiously picking at the skin around his fingernails.

"Ugh, I'm boiling," Esther groaned, "you must be suffering even more than I am right now."

"W-what?" stammered Scrags, "No, I'm fine, I mean, I'm the one with my feet in the lake." He reasoned with a nervous laugh.

"You know what I mean," Said Esther, leaning up on her elbows to look at him, "I know you don't want to, but it's probably a good idea to have a break from binding for a bit."

Scrags went redder than his sunburn.

"I don't! I mean, I'm fine.." He murmured, suddenly very interested in a knot in the wood underneath him.

"Listen," Esther started, sitting up fully and lightly holding his arm, manoeuvring him to face her. "It's boiling hot right now, and I know you've been binding for over 8 hours, almost definitely over that since you shared a room with Keith last night so you probably woke up early to make sure you were up before him, so you could put on your binder before he could see you without one."

Scrags looked sheepishly down as Esther relayed his tactics to him, and his breathing picked up as his anxiety rose at the thought of taking off his binder around friends, or even at all. Esther noticed this, obviously, and quickly pulled him up and off the jetty to a more hidden spot by the edge of the trees.

"Hey, Scrags, try and calm down, okay? I know this is a difficult thing for you but it's necessary, I don't want you getting hurt when it can be prevented. Look, I have an idea," Esther explained, as Scrags looked up whilst trying to calm his breathing down, "So, if you go and take off your binder in the van, I'll go and tell Keith and Gwen that we're gonna go for a walk for a bit." Scrags looked apprehensive, but listened as she continued, "Then, we can go and have a walk in the woods for a bit while you have a break for your lungs. It'll be shady and no one else will be there but you and me. You can cross your arms, heck, even blindfold me, I don't care, whatever you need to feel more comfortable, but you do need to take it off for a bit, okay?"

"...Okay." He conceded.

To be continued...


End file.
